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AG Loretta Lynch: There Is No ‘Ferguson Effect’

Updated 04.13.17 6:21PM ET / Published 11.17.15 11:40AM ET

Gary Cameron/Reuters

Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Tuesday there is “no data” to support a “Ferguson effect,” described by police officials as the notion that the debate over police use of force has chilled law enforcement and made the country less safe. “While certainly there might be anecdotal evidence there, as all have noted, there’s no data to support it,” Lynch said. The announcement comes after FBI Director James Comey remarked last month that an anti-police backlash—following incidents in Missouri, Staten Island, and elsewhere—had led to an uptick in crime.